I’m the Estate Representative: How do I find the heirs?
We began our series on the estate representative with a blog on the essential responsibilities and first steps you have to take when you are the estate representative. We continue by looking at your first step, how you find the heirs. I must find the heirs. What is an heir? If we look to Black’s…
North Carolina Department of Revenue vs KAESTNER 1992 FAMILY TRUST and What It Means to You
In this blog we go back to the topic of family trusts. On June 21st of this year the Supreme Court issued their opinion on a trust case dealing with the State’s ability to tax a trust. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE v. KIMBERLEY RICE KAESTNER 1992 FAMILY TRUST. In this case, an irrevocable family…
I am the Estate Representative. What are the first steps?
Your loved one passed and you find yourself the estate representative, I know you want someone to tell you what to do next. Here is the blog that is going to do just that. Take a deep breath, calm your mind. What is an estate representative? It depends upon whether or not there is a…
Gonzalez v Department of Health Care Services: What is a special needs trust?
Gonzalez v Department of Health Care Services is the latest opinion published by the California Courts of Appeal about a special needs trust. And, yes, that is how you say it. Let me tell you a little bit about a special needs trust, then we will get into the case. What is a special needs…
Britney Spears Conservatorship: Conservatorships, Pt. 3
As promised, here is part 3 of our conservatorship series. This time we do a little digging into the Britney Spears conservatorship case. If you want to catch up you can start with Conservatorships, Pt. 1 and Conservatorships, Pt. 2. For the most part we have focused on the use of conservatorships when we have…
Avoiding Probate: Your How To Guide
You know avoiding probate is what you want. You may not even know why you want it but you know you do. Some of you are probably asking, what is probate and why would we want to be avoiding probate? Probate is a process of law that deals with a will after a person dies.…
Conservatorships, Pt. 2: Types of Conservators and what they do
If you are not up to date on conservatorships, you might want to start off our primer in Part 1, a general overview of what conservatorships are all about. Here, I will dig a little deeper into the roles of conservators. What are the types of Conservators in California Probate Court? Thank you for asking.…
Dudek v. Dudek: What’s in a trust?
Dudek v. Dudek is a case that boils down to the creation of a trust. This is the story. One brother, JD, took out a life insurance policy and at the same time created an irrevocable trust with the only assets being the policy and $100. He made David, another Dudek brother, the trustee and…
Conservatorships Pt. 1: Do we need to consider this for mom?
So, mom seems to be okay. Then, you find out that she is not okay…You step in and realize you may need to consider a conservatorship.
Trolan v. Trolan: Sibling Trust Distribution
Trolan v. Trolan sheds light on a not so uncommon situation involving siblings and trust distributions. Lets get into the facts to see if Trolan v. Trolan is a case you need to be aware of. Dad and Mom are parents to 6 lovely children. In 1974, they do the right thing and execute a…